


Big, Bad and Evil Did Notice

by Old_Soldier



Series: So Dimension Twisted [5]
Category: Forgotten Realms, Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Best Friends, Blood and Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Family, Fate & Destiny, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 16:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12561372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Old_Soldier/pseuds/Old_Soldier
Summary: The powers that be sent Team Possible and Shego to the remote Moonlands so they could maintain a low profile to avoid the notice of the Dark One and its minions.  Unfortunately for Ann, neither Kim nor Shego had 'keeping low-pro' in their skill sets....





	Big, Bad and Evil Did Notice

* * *

****

#####  **Vortex Day plus Sixteen Years**

The young forest warden, Slim Possible, was startled from his sleep: instantly alert he guided his eyes around the campsite, careful to keep his body still. When he caught sight of his horse the young man noted the animal was calmly staring to the south with ears perked up. Deeming the immediate area secure he got up to see what captured his steed's attention just in time to hear what woke him in the first place, orcish war-cries.

Approaching his mount and stroking its neck the ranger spoke in a near whisper with a distinctive backwoods drawl, "Durn it, sounds like Ragnoz made it down my neck of the woods without my knowin'. He's too far north to be tangling with the Greenraven clan; he's closer to Clan Stormwind but they ain't got no huntin' parties out. Besides, I don't think he'll tangle with them, not since Kim took an eye and almost got his spleen in the bargain. Maybe he and his boys got ahold of some dum-ass 'outlanders'." He did not need to speak any louder since the animal had excellent hearing and since sneaking was often an important part of staying alive in the Savage North, being quiet, in turn, was an important part of being sneaky. The equine companion turned a big brown eye towards her human and nudged with its head affectionately.

The young warden loved the wilderness, firmly believing that goodly people living on the edges of the wild places as well as those who make a living from its bounty need not fear it; the untamed lands were only as dangerous as evil creatures chose to make it. He dedicated his life to keeping watch over the inhabitants of his range, defending them against those things that went bump in the day as well as the night. 

His wanderings covered the open ranges of the northern Moonlands and the dense evergreen forests of the Moonwood, always alert for marauders as he kept an eye on the two most northerly clans of the barbarian Black Lion tribe, the Stormwinds and Greenravens. Unfortunately they were also closer to the orc-infested mountain foothills, the Lands against the Wall to the north and the People of the Black Blood within the Moonwood itself. At least he was not fighting alone; he could get help from his mentor, Marshean, a forest warden of long experience who ranged further south by Clan Windrivver. Clan Greenraven kept a check on threats from the Moonwood under the leadership of Kim’s rather abrasive, green-skinned outlander colleague Shego, the wielder of the mysterious green spellfire. However, the pre-eminent fighting force in the area belonged to Clan Stormwind. The war parties lead by Kim and Ron were undefeated: the addition of their fourteen year old daughter Ann - taught to fight by her mother and proving to be an exemplary healer in own right - strengthened the clan even more. It was only natural then, that the one-eyed orc leader, Ragnoz, would avoid the Clan Stormwind stomping grounds.

A dome of what appeared to be daylight lit up the forest in the distance; closing one eye to the bright light to preserve some night vision the ranger made note of the phenomenon. Again in a low whisper, "A daylight spell…orcs’ll be blind for a time…them tinhorns might get a chance to vamoose." The mare, brown and tan except for some white on the forehead in the shape of a star grunted softly as if in understanding.

A sudden and brief flash of light prompted the man to start counting until the sharp crackle-crack-BOOM of a thunderbolt reached his ears, gauging the distance at five or six miles, "A wizard too; with a bit of The Art they might just last till dawn…hmm…still 'bout four hours away."

Slim’s weather beaten face belied his seventeen years, the large, brown drooping moustache giving him the look of a veteran. Tacking his horse and checking his gear, especially his swords and bow, he broke camp. Putting on the night vision goggles his younger brother James, a promising wizard in his own right, gave him for his birthday he led his horse down the trail, "Let's git goin’ Tornado, we'll see what's left after Ragnoz is through with ’em. Dang I like these eyepieces, Squirt sure did a great job, durn near seems like daytime."

The battle noise, although muted by distance, carried well through the night air, the sounds of clashing steel, screams and yells occasionally punctuated with the whooshing boom of a fireball or the staccato crack and thump of several force bolts impacting on their targets. "Dang, Tornado, that there wizard's a serious Artist. Ragnoz is sure earnin' his keep tonight."

By the predawn Slim arrived at the company's camp, evidence of haste and destruction all around. Patches of scorched earth and burnt flora were accented by piles of equally roasted orcs; the heavier suits of armour, doffed by warriors seeking a more comfortable nights rest, lay about as did the mundane equipment peculiar to an exploration party. The only weapons left behind were the daggers and arrows left protruding from the foul humanoid carcasses; obviously the daylight spell blinded the orcs long enough for the defenders to organize and conduct a fighting withdrawal.

Following the trail of the fight was easy enough; the party obviously skilled enough to produce a high kill ratio _“…this fight's costin' Ragnoz plenty…”_ and the generous application of battle magic hinting at strong spellcasters. Still, as he followed, the clumps of dead orcs were occasionally interspersed with the body of an equally dead party member. With a snort Tornado halted and focused her attention ahead; nocking an arrow Slim did likewise, listening carefully. After a moment he could hear the clash of weapons and the roars of an orc in battle.

With the sky brightening quickly Slim knew the sunrise was near, _"Ragnoz better win quick else he's gonna be hurtin' when the sun comes up."_ Tornado twitched an ear in apparent acknowledgement as Slim dismounted, travelling through the undergrowth toward the sound of fighting, circling around so the sun would be at his back. 

Finally getting a good view he saw the near seven foot tall, one-eyed beast looking a lot the worse for wear; his opponent, easily a foot shorter, and no less abused appeared to be an elf, judging by the blue hair. _“Elf's got some moves holdin' off fugly and tryin' to put the sunrise behind hisself…old Ragnoz seems bushed, he's sloppy.”_ Bringing his bow up Slim had to hold his shot, _“Dang, can't get a good shot, durned elf's in ma way.”_

The orc made a sudden charge; however, the combined effects of wounds and fatigue made it a clumsy one. Slim saw his chance, yet in the moment he took to draw the bowstring and aim the blue-haired warrior leaned left and low, swinging his heavy mace across the knee of his opponent. The crack of breaking bone and the resulting howl of pain made it abundantly clear the foul creature was badly hurt. Dropped to his knees the orc's head was at the perfect height of the elf's backswing; a solid, dull thump, punctuated with a spray of reddish-black blood, and dark greyish brain matter, preceded the collapse of the orc's body face first to the ground.

Doing his best to remain standing the exhausted and wounded fighter looked up in momentary panic when a figure holding a bow at the ready broke cover and approached cautiously. Noting the individual appeared human he raised a hand to his chest, "Heh…uh, Morninglord." 

Slim did not know much about religions; however, in his training Marshean taught him the names of the goodly deities and the bad. Morninglord was on the good list so he responded, "Lady of the Forest". Sighing in apparent relief the injured warrior collapsed.

A sharp whistle brought Tornado trotting to her companion's side; pulling down a saddle bag Slim retrieved his healer's kit and began treating the blue-haired warrior's injuries. Noticing a pendant hanging from his patient's neck the warden examined it more closely and recognized it as the symbol of the Morninglord, a human deity _“…huh, a priest”_. Taking a closer look at the patient he noticed the stockier build and more rugged facial features _“…too heavy set to be an elf”_. Pulling back the hair he discovered the ears were not as elongated and sharply pointed as a true elf. These ears were slightly longer than a human's, however the point of the ears were more rounded. _“A half elf: raised by humans if his choice of gods means anythin'…prob'ly from Silverymoon, they's got all types come from there”_.

After about fifteen minutes of treatment Slim's professional concern edged towards worry for his patient. All the cuts and bruises, including a particularly large bruise across one thigh, were easily treated with bandages or applications of a healing salve cooked up by Annie. During his ministrations the patient developed the shakes and a fever, probably caused by the one wound the ranger could not staunch, one that would not stop oozing pus laden blood despite a curing potion. Stumped, Slim could think of only one option: carefully sitting the half elf on Tornado he lashed him securely to the saddle as comfortable as possible, "I know nought more to do for ya, friend, Annie's gonna hafta take a look at ya." With that he led his horse on to find Clan Stormwind.

________________________________________

The long, willowy body of an exhausted Ann lay on the pine bough cushioned, fur bedding; red hair tussled, dazed blue eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling of her lodge, "I'm so beat, I can't believe we went for thirty-one hours straight."

Her best friend, Freia, a shorter girl with sable hair also lay on her back, grey eyes equally dazed also stared upward. Using Ann’s stomach as a pillow she absent-mindedly caressed the arm of her friend that lay across her shoulders, "You said it, I'm exhausted I don't think I could've lasted another moment."

Blue eyes regained their focus and turned to the other girl, "You're exhausted? Hayla and I pretty much did all the work. You were all grossed out and would've bolted if I hadn't grabbed you and hauled you in. I needed you there; I couldn't have handled Hayla by myself. We both appreciated you being there."

"I imagine she's sleeping it off right now."

"Yes, finally and so is the baby. Freia, Hayla's womb wasn't even open the width of a finger when the contractions started. Twelve is way too young to have children and she was too small to start with, I don't care if she passed the Rites of Womanhood. And you wanted to have a kid of your own, you know, before your intended was killed, and you're not much bigger than Hayla. It's a good thing your da wasn't going to let you get married till sixteen."

"Well we are older than she is and even if I need wait a bit you're definitely stronger and bigger than me; you could probably have a baby as easy as rolling off a log."

"Older? We're only a year and a half older! And as for having a baby now, I'd rather roll off a log: besides, if Da has his way he probably won't approve of me getting married for at least another ten years never mind having kids," sighing deeply Annie continued, "Freia, tell me again how I let myself get talked into becoming a midwife at fourteen when I haven't even had my own children yet."

"Well, you're the most talented healer the whole tribe has ever had; all you gotta do is look at someone with those big, beautiful blue eyes of yours and you know where they hurt even if you don't know what's wrong yet. When Amafrey's little boy was sick he said your voice sounded like a hug; of course I could stand hearing that voice more often. Also, the fact the old midwife, Gerti, died in her sleep and that you just can't say no when someone asks for your help."

Ann ruminated aloud, "Our clan's in the best shape. Hinrik is quite experienced and is a decent healer but he has other duties as clan shaman that draws his attention also, he's glad for my healing skills. He told me the healing skills of the new shamans with the Greenravens and Windrivvers don't even add up to mine and neither have midwives and the smaller bands don't have any help at all unless they meet up with one of the clans. You know, Freia, my parents visit the other clans to help with one thing or another; why couldn't I tag along and check on the health of those people?"

Noticing her best friend's voice trailing off the raven-haired girl rolled over onto her elbows positioning her face merely inches from her partner's to realize Ann had fallen asleep. Gazing upon her sleeping friend with affection the smaller girl bit her lip in indecision as grey eyes dwelled upon the taller girl's lips _“Maybe one day I'll have the nerve”_ … before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Grabbing another fur she snuggled in tight to the healer, _“Oh well, I know she doesn't mind snuggling; after the last day and half, no one is going to bother us, at least for a while anyway."_

Just as Freia was nodding off a commotion within the clan encampment woke her up. Looking at Ann and seeing she was sleeping soundly the smaller girl focused on the noise outside. She heard the old woman, Betha, hurling invective at a being that enjoyed vexing her. Closing her eyes she hoped it would go away _…no…_ she heard the door flap move _…oh no…_ she heard heavy panting and felt a large furry body pounce on her and her best friend _…oh please, no…_ and opening her grey eyes beheld the ice blue gaze of a large wolf who promptly gave her a lick on the nose. With a groan of satisfaction the animal rolled over on its back; from the other side of the creature Freia heard a sleepy voice mumble pleadingly, "Pandaroo…tired…sleep."

________________________________________

It was after sundown when the two girls had supper by the side of the main campfire, feeling refreshed after several hours sleep, despite the addition of a squirmy, four-legged fur blanket: they were sharing a brace of conies caught by Ann's pet wolf. The teens were dressed in traditional tasselled buckskins, however, whereas Freia's outfit was the usual buff colour, Ann's had the white and green tassels traditional for a healer. Their hair was done up in the custom expected of all Uthgardt women, in particular the red-head's long braid draped over her right breast as she was unattached; the raven hair of the smaller girl hung loose as she was in mourning over the death of her fiancé, Anders, a few months before. 

The Ann glanced sidelong at her best friend. They had been a pair since before they were five; they did everything together, _“Even planned to lose our virginities to Anders at the same time, poor boy wouldn't have known what hit him,”_ Ann thought with a grin, _“Good thing Da didn't find out, poor Anders would've been… how did Da say that, it was outlander speak,_ ~deep space probe black hole deep~, _I think. Whatever that means it probably wouldn't have been good for Anders…when he was killed on a hunt I was there for her._

Freia had always been vivacious and flirty, she was the life of the clan; her sorrow hit everyone hard. As time went on the mourning teen's mood improved and her playful, flirty behaviour was making a comeback. To Ann's surprise however, the flirting was directed all at her, _“She was a wreck emotionally, she clung to me for a couple of tendays afterwards…have I been moved from best friend to rebound girl…maybe being sweethearts wouldn't be so bad; until Freia and Anders got engaged I heard some people were expecting that to happen to us eventually...I mean, we've always been tight…this kind of relationship isn't common but not unheard of, few in the clan would object, who's going to question it if a healer wants a relationship with her understudy…_

"…Ann…"

_"…but my parents are outlanders, how well would they take it if at all…"_

"…Annie…"

 _"…at least Da wouldn't worry about me being out with a boy behind a bush somewhere,"_ she giggled.

"Kethranna…"

_"…but what if one of us finds someone else, would it ruin our friendship…"_

"…KETHRANNA RONSDOTTR!" 

At the sound of her full name Ann came out her thoughts and looked at Freia, "What?"

"Pandaroo's been trying to get your attention for the past little while."

Looking into the ice blue eyes of her other best friend Ann watched the wolf lower her head with a small yipping whine then perking her ears gazed into the darkness; her head turned back to look at her mistress expectantly. Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly and dropping her chin a fraction the healer issued a low 'hrowf' from the back of her throat; the large wolf bounded into the night.

Those men who happened to be sharing the fire with the war leader's daughter paid rapt attention. When she sent her wolf out word spread quietly, putting the encampment on alert. The clan's second in command, and Freia's father, Bran Barkinson, with his nephew Steve who was not much older than Ann, arrived and cocked an eyebrow at Ann. She responded by curling up one side of her mouth in a mischievous grin.

A few minutes later the silence was broken by the sound of vicious barking and snarling accompanied by the surprised yells of her victim; weapons were raised and the warriors positioned themselves to defend the clan.

"GET OFF ME YOU FOUR-LEGGED FUR BLANKET; ANNIE GET THIS MANGEY, FLEA BITTEN, VARMINT OFF OF ME…AUGH!"

Ann tried to control her laughter enough to shout, "Aw c'mon Slim, you know she loves you."

"Yeah, well sometimes the feelin’s ain't mutual."

As mirth lightened the mood Tornado walked into the light bearing her charge, Pandaroo trotting beside and a disgruntled ranger bringing up the rear, "Annie, the guy on the saddle is hurt real bad and I couldn't do more for him."

Patting the horse's neck in greeting Ann approached the outlander in the saddle: bystanders stood back at a respectful distance as she focused. Her eyes glowing blue, Ann right away discerned a faint violet aura confirming the warrior was injured. Watching the violet auras darken as they coalesced around the warrior's various injuries the healer noticed one particularly large dark patch on the torso. Worry crossed Ann's face as the emanations finally settled; the minor injuries were not healing as they should and the aura around the large wound showed up a sickly blackish-red with tendrils of black snaking outwards. 

She looked the horse in the eye, prompting Tornado to proceed to the Healer's lodge then spoke to a group of men standing nearby, "Vidar, Rolf, Yrar, Knutr, put him in my lodge, please."

She turned to the ranger, "Slim, what happened; was he slashed with something cursed?"

He answered, "The fact he done killed Ragnoz during a fight this morning might have somethin' to do with it; I didn't see the whole thing so our friend here could'a been hit with somethin' during the fracas."

For a moment all within earshot stopped, and in disbelief either stared at the visitor or the ranger. Ann admonished, "Let's go boys; it seems I have a hero to save."

Ann, with her best friend assisting, undressed their patient and wiped him down, examining each wound in turn; she noticed her friend suddenly motionless.

"Freia, don't just sit there, boil some water for infusions I need to clean the wounds to prevent infection… **Freia**."

"I've never seen blue hair before never mind an elf, what if there's still magic in him, he could be dangerous."

"He's not an elf, he's a half-elf which means he is half human as well, see the ears, otherwise he's no different than any of the guys here in the clan."

As Ann's treatments continued her concerns grew, the various cuts were not bleeding but they were not clotting either. The large wound showed a level of infection inconsistent with a wound less than a day old; the bloody pus got worse regardless of her best efforts to clean out the wound and her herbal infusion should have already knocked down the fever.

Freia greeting a visitor entering the lodge distracted the healer from her ministrations, "Hi, Kim Jamessdottr, glad to see you back from your patrol, did your mate and everyone come back alright?"

"Hi little one," responded Kim with a bright smile, "It was no big, we found the remains of Ragnoz, his crew and the outlanders." Kneeling beside her daughter the clan war leader gazed at the patient, "So my little Bubble-Butt, this is our hero of the day; he's looking pretty rough although that's to be expected after tangling with old One-Eye."

Ann turned to look into the smiling olive eyes of her mother, “She's over thirty and she hardly looks it, even the little scar under her left eye barely makes a difference…I sure hope I look that good when I'm that old.” Giving her mother a kiss on the cheek she responded, "He's not doing very well Ma, it actually looks pretty grim, I think the wound is cursed so I'll have to lay with him; can you tell Da I might need him tonight?"

"Sure thing Baby, I'll leave you get at it; keep an eye on my little Bubble-Butt will you Freia?" 

Freia smirked as she watched her friend undress, "I have no problem at all watching Annie's butt."

After undressing, Ann retrieved three Goodberries for an energy boost. Eating one herself the healer passed the other two to her partner, "Mash these into his tongue; 'blue-boy' will need the energy for me to help him."

Quickly following her instructions the Freia turned to look at her friend. Ann had knelt down and sat back on her heels, her back erect and hands placed on thighs, her eyes closed. As she focused, faint wisps of blue flame dancing delicately across her body. Freia knew her part in this; keep watch over her best friend as she lay in a trance-like reverie while in full body contact with her patient to conduct the healing, and fetch Ron if something went wrong. It was not something Ann did frequently, her da being especially uncomfortable with the whole idea. However, ever since healing her first patient, Pandaroo, it was the only way she knew how to use her talent. 

Ann’s eyes opened, revealing brightly flaring blue orbs which cast an azure glow to the inside of the lodge. Moving to her patient the healer lay her nude form against the unclad one of the injured warrior, Freia covering their bodies with a fur. Sitting by the small fire in the lodge the healer's assistant was surprised to see Rufus had joined her in vigil.

To Ann's way of thinking she was imagining her healing spirit entering the patient as a ranger patrolling a forest. She imagined fevers as heat waves that could be quenched by a gentle rain shower; burns were perceived as forest fires that were attacked by heavy downpours. Spreading infections were putrid waters held in check with beaver dams; replacing broken lodge poles and sewing torn animal hides was her way of directing the body to knit broken bones and regenerate damaged flesh. 

This venture, however, was like nothing she encountered before; instead of forest Ann found herself in a wilting, putrid wasteland of grey cloudless skies and an ash-like ground which, when stepped upon, yielded like deep moss yet exuding a nauseating stench. Combined with the oppressive heat the healer's stomach began heaving with the need to throw up which caused her concern, _“This isn't good; a patient's injuries never affected me before.”_

Willing herself toward the site of the infected injury Ann attempted to conjure up a rainfall to cool the fever, however the resulting effect was not what she expected. Large black tendrils of smoke flew towards her through the sky and on the ground a flood of grey sludge oozed around her feet. Alarmed, she tried to create a dam to stem the flow however there were no materials available to build one. Attempting to withdraw from her patient proved futile since the rising ooze appeared to have anchored her in place. Beginning to panic Ann looked up to see the black cloud had coalesced into a round portal that seemed ready to envelope her, _“Is that one of Da's deep black holes he's always talking about?”_ Ann could not help but look into the inky void; what she saw bombarded her with the sensation of her soul being shredded by overwhelming despair….

Her ensuing scream was enough to alert the entire clan; Freia had barely recovered her wits when Ann's parents tore through the door flap. What she saw sent a chill through her blood. Instead of blue flames dancing across her best friend and patient was a greasy black vapour clinging to the bodies as if consuming them.

Picking up his daughter Ron fired up his mystical monkey power to give her healing power a boost; realizing she was unconscious he turned blazing blue eyes to Kim, "KP, she can't use my power-up if she's unconscious and I don't know how to get in there with her." Kim looked with dismay at her daughter when Freia spoke up.

"Rufus knows how, Annie taught him to follow."

Ron looked at his mole rat, "Is that true buddy?"

The rodent gave thumbs up, "Unh-huh."

"Ok Rufus, make like the 'Tunnel Lord', and take the Lotus Blade," tossing a Goodberry to the mole-rat he continued his instructions, "Scarf down this power-up; this is the boss level and you gotta save the princess by taking out the BBEG; you good to go?" With a determined look on his face the pink naked mole rat saluted and faded from view.

Freia looked at Kim, "Are you scared and confused?"

Still trying to digest the situation, Kim replied, "Oh yeah."

"Good, I thought it was just me," returned Freia.

Kim suddenly noticed the flow of the greasy vapour enveloping her daughter become more agitated. What creeped her out however was Ron suddenly speaking in a very familiar faux-villain voice,

"So, you think you're the big dog just because you can pick on a poor defenceless puppy…you think you're evil…I'LL SHOW YOU EVIL…AH-BOOH-YA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA…"

As Freia clung to her in terror Kim felt a chill go down her spine as she experienced Zorpox flashbacks. Still looking at the black vapour she noticed it attempting to flow away yet the sudden appearance of a blue sphere of energy around Ron stopped it from getting away. The gloating laugh of Zorpox sent scurrying away in terror, the last of those curious clansmen still loitering about the Healer's lodge.

________________________________________

As dinner was being served the visiting sibling spoke up, "It appears a minion of Oblivion has stumbled upon the newly seeded Redeemed One."

"Is there cause for concern?"

"The Lantern is with her and is protecting her as is his function. However, I am unable to determine if the minion has contacted its master; there is a curious emanation from the Lantern which is confusing to me."


End file.
